After a customer has exposed a roll of photographic film, the customer takes the film to a photofinisher to obtain photographs of the images captured on the film. In order to develop the film, the photofinisher passes the filmstrip through a series of liquid baths which typically include a developer, a bleach/fix and a stabilizer. The film is then dried and used to create photographs.
One method of passing the film through the various baths is to attach a leader card to the lead end of the film and pull the leader card through the baths. As the leader card is pulled through the baths, the film is towed behind the leader card and is therefore exposed to the baths.
An example of such a leader card is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,774 which issued in the name of Krehbiel et al. on Aug. 29, 1978. Krehbiel et al. discloses a film guide for inserting into a film processor and guiding a roll of undeveloped film therethrough. The guide includes an elongated flexible leader having a tongue which extends outwardly from the rear of the leader. The tongue has a neck portion which is narrower than the rest of the tongue. An aperture in the film has a width greater than the neck width of the tongue. The tongue width is greater than the aperture width but less than the aperture length. The end of the tongue is inserted perpendicular to the length of the film into the aperture. The leader is then pivoted so that the leader is parallel to the length of the film. Such an arrangement allows the film to pivot relative to the leader as the film is guided through the film processor.